Vatican II

DOGMATIC CONSTITUTION ON THE CHURCH

LUMEN GENTIUM

Excerpts on the Eucharist

Proclaimed By His Holiness, Pope Paul VI on November 21, 1964

CHAPTER I: THE MYSTERY OF THE CHURCH

As often as the sacrifice of the cross by which
"Christ our Pasch is sacrificed" (1 Cor. 5:7) is
celebrated on the altar, the work of our redemption is carried
out. Likewise, in the sacrament of the Eucharistic bread, the
unity of believers, who form one body in Christ (cf. 1 Cor.
10:17), is both expressed and brought about. All men are called
to this union with Christ, who is the light of the world, from
whom we go forth, through whom we live, and towards whom our
whole life is directed.

[6] Through baptism we are formed in the likeness of Christ:
"For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body"
(1 Cor.12:13). In this sacred rite fellowship in Christ's death
and resurrection is symbolized and is brought about: "For we
were buried with him by means of baptism into death"; and if
"we have been united with him in the likeness of his death,
we shall be so in the likeness of his resurrection also"
(Rom. 6:4-5). Really sharing in the body of the Lord in the
breaking of the Eucharistic bread, we are taken up into communion
with him and with one another. "Because the bread is
one, we, though many, are one body, all of us who partake of the
one bread" (1 Cor. 10:17). In this way all of us are made
members of his body (cf. 1 Cor. 12:27), "but severally
members one of another" (Rom. 12:4). As all the members of
the human body, though they are many, form one body, so also are
the faithful in Christ (cf. 1 Cor.12:12).

CHAPTER II: THE PEOPLE OF GOD

Though they differ essentially and not only in degree, the
common priesthood of the faithful and the ministerial or
hierarchical priesthood are none the less ordered one to another;
each in its own proper way shares in the one priesthood of
Christ. [2] The ministerial priest, by the sacred power that he
has, forms and rules the priestly people; in the person of
Christ he effects the Eucharistic sacrifice and offers it to
God in the name of all the people. The faithful indeed, by virtue
of their royal priesthood, participate in the offering of the
Eucharist. [3] They exercise that priesthood, too, by the
reception of the sacraments, prayer and thanksgiving, the witness
of a holy life, abnegation and active charity. 11. The sacred
nature and organic structure of the priestly community is brought
into operation through the sacraments and the exercise of
virtues. Incorporated into the Church by Baptism, the faithful
are appointed by their baptismal character to Christian religious
worship; reborn as sons of God, they must profess before men the
faith they have received from God through the Church. [4] By the
sacrament of Confirmation they are more perfectly bound to the
Church and are endowed with the special strength of the Holy
Spirit. Hence they are, as true witnesses of Christ, more
strictly obliged to spread the faith by word and deed. [5] Taking
part in the Eucharistic sacrifice, the source and summit of the
Christian life, they offer the divine victim to God and
themselves along with it. [6] And so it is that, both in the
offering and in Holy Communion, each in his own way, though not
of course indiscriminately, has his own part to play in the
liturgical action. Then, strengthened by the body of Christ in
the Eucharistic communion, they manifest in a concrete way that
unity of the People of God which this holy sacrament aptly
signifies and admirably realizes.

15. The Church knows that she is joined in many ways to the
baptized who are honored by the name of Christian, but who do not
however profess the Catholic faith in its entirety or have not
preserved unity or communion under the successor of Peter.[14]
For there are many who hold sacred scripture in honor as a rule
of faith and of life, who have a sincere religious zeal, who
lovingly believe in God the FatherAlmighty and in Christ, the Son
of God and the Savior,[15] who are sealed by baptism which unites
them to Christ, and who indeed recognize and receive other
sacraments in their own Churches or ecclesiastical communities.
Many of them possess the episcopate, celebrate the Holy Eucharist
and cultivate devotion of the Virgin Mother of God.[16] There is
furthermore a sharing in prayer and spiritual benefits; these
Christians are indeed in some real way joined to us in the Holy
Spirit for, by his gifts and graces, his sanctifying power is
also active in them and he has strengthened some of them even to
the shedding of their blood.

It is for the priests to complete the building up of the
body in the Eucharistic sacrifice, thus fulfilling the words of
the prophet, "From the rising of the sun, even to going
down, my name is great among the gentiles. And in every place
there is a sacrifice, and there is offered to my name a clean
offering" (Mal. 1:11).[22] Thus the Church prays and
likewise labors so that into the People of God, the Body of the
Lord and the Temple of the Holy Spirit, may pass the fullness of
the whole world, and that in Christ, the head of all things, all
honor and glory may be rendered to the Creator, the Father of the
universe.

CHAPTER III: THE CHURCH IS HIERARCHICAL

[45] The Roman Pontiff and the bishops, by reason of their
office and the seriousness of the matter, apply themselves with
zeal to the work of inquiring by every suitable means into this
revelation and of giving apt expression to its contents;[46] they
do not, however, admit any new public revelation as pertaining to
the divine deposit of faith.[47] 26. The bishop, invested with
the fullness of the sacrament of Orders, is "the steward of
the grace of the supreme priesthood,"[48] above all in the
Eucharist, which he himself offers, or ensures that it is
offered,[49] from which the Church ever derives its life and on
which it thrives. This Church of Christ is really present in
all legitimately organized local groups of the faithful, which,
in so far as they are united to their pastors, are also quite
appropriately called Churches in the New Testament.[50] For these
are in fact, in their own localities, the new people called by
God, in the power of the Holy Spirit and as the result of full
conviction (cf. 1 Thess. 1:5). In them the faithful are gathered
together through the preaching of the Gospel of Christ, and
the mystery of the Lord's Supper is celebrated "so that, by
means of the flesh and blood of the Lord the whole brotherhood of
the Body may be welded together."[51] In each altar
community, under the sacred ministry of the bishop,[52] a
manifest symbol is to be seen of that charity and "unity of
the mystical body, without which there can be no
salvation."[53] In these communities, though they may often
be small and poor, or existing in the Diaspora, Christ is present
through whose power and influence the One, Holy, Catholic and
Apostolic Church is constituted.[54] For "the sharing in
the body and blood of Christ has no other effect than to
accomplish our transformation into that which we
receive."[55] Moreover, every legitimate celebration of the
Eucharist is regulated by the bishop, to whom is confided the
duty of presenting to the divine majesty the cult of the
Christian religion and of ordering it in accordance with the
Lord's injunctions and the Church's regulations, as further
defined for the diocese by his particular decision. Thus the
bishops, by praying and toiling for the people, apportion in many
different forms and without stint that which flows from the
abundance of Christ's holiness. By the ministry of the word they
impart to those who believe the strength of God unto salvation
(cf. Rom. 1:16), and through the sacraments, the frequent and
fruitful distribution of which they regulate by their
authority,[56] they sanctify the faithful. They control the
conferring of Baptism, through which a sharing in the priesthood
of Christ is granted. They are the original ministers of
Confirmation; it is they who confer sacred Orders and regulate
the discipline of Penance, and who diligently exhort and instruct
their flocks to take the part that is theirs, in a spirit of
faith and reverence, in the liturgy and above all in the holy
sacrifice of the Mass. Finally, by the example of their
manner of life they should exercise a powerful influence for good
on those over whom they are placed, by abstaining from all wrong
doing in their conduct, and, as far as they are able, with the
help of the Lord, changing it for the better, so that together
with the flock entrusted to them, they may attain to eternal
life.[57]

[63] Whilst not having the supreme degree of the pontifical
office, and notwithstanding the fact that they depend on the
bishops in the exercise of their own proper power, the priests
are for all that associated with them by reason of their
sacerdotal dignity;[64] and in virtue of the sacrament of
Orders,[65] after the image of Christ, the supreme and eternal
priest (Heb. 5:1-10; 7:24; 9:11-28), they are consecrated in
order to preach the Gospel and shepherd the faithful as well as
to celebrate divine worship as true priests of the New
Testament.[66] On the level of their own ministry sharing in the
unique office of Christ, the mediator, (1 Tim. 2:5), they
announce to all the word of God. However, it is in the
Eucharistic cult or in the Eucharistic assembly of the faithful
(synaxis) that they exercise in a supreme degree their sacred
functions; there, acting in the person of Christ[67] and
proclaiming his mystery, they unite the votive offerings of the
faithful to the sacrifice of Christ their head, and in the
sacrifice of the Mass they make present again and apply, until
the coming of the Lord (cf. 1 Cor. 11:26), the unique sacrifice
of the New Testament, that namely of Christ offering himself once
for all a spotless victim to the Father (cf. Heb. 9:11-28).

29. At a lower level of the hierarchy are to be found deacons,
who receive the imposition of hands "not unto the
priesthood, but unto the ministry."[74] For, strengthened by
sacramental grace they are dedicated to the People of God, in
conjunction with the bishop and his body of priests, in the
service of the liturgy, of the Gospel and of works of charity. It
pertains to the office of a deacon, in so far as it may be
assigned to him by the competent authority, to administer Baptism
solemnly, to be custodian and distributor of the Eucharist, in
the name of the Church, to assist at and to bless marriages, to
bring Viaticum to the dying, to read the sacred scripture to the
faithful, to instruct and exhort the people, to preside over the
worship and the prayer of the faithful, to administer
sacramentals, and to officiate at funeral and burial services.
Dedicated to works of charity and functions of administration,
deacons should recall the admonition of St. Polycarp: "Let
them be merciful, and zealous, and let them walk according to the
truth of the Lord, who became the servant of all."[75]

CHAPTER IV: THE LAITY

The apostolate of the laity is a sharing in the salvific
mission of the Church. Through Baptism and Confirmation all are
appointed to this apostolate by the Lord himself. Moreover, by
the sacraments, and especially by the Eucharist, that love of God
and man which is the soul of the apostolate is communicated and
nourished.

CHAPTER V: THE CALL TO HOLINESS

42. 'God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and
God abides in him' (1 Jn. 4:16). God has poured out his love in
our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (cf.
Rom. 5:5); therefore the first and most necessary gift is
charity, by which we love God above all things and our neighbor
because of him. But if charity is to grow and fructify in the
soul like a good seed, each of the faithful must willingly hear
the word of God and carry out his will with deeds, with the help
of his grace; he must frequently partake of the sacraments,
chiefly the Eucharist, and take part in the liturgy; he must
constantly apply himself to prayer, self-denial, active brotherly
service and the practice of all virtues. This is because
love, as the bond of perfection and fullness of the law (cf. Col.
3:14; Rom. 13:10), governs, gives meaning to, and perfects all
the means of sanctification[12] Hence the true disciple of Christ
is marked by love both of God and of his neighbor.

CHAPTER VII: THE PILGRIM CHURCH

48. The Church, to which we are all called in Christ Jesus,
and in which by the grace of God we acquire holiness, will
receive its perfection only in the glory of heaven, when will
come the time of the renewal of all things (Acts 3:21). At that
time, together with the human race, the universe itself, which is
so closely related to man and which attains its destiny through
him, will be perfectly reestablished in Christ (cf. Eph. 1:10;
Col. 1:20; 2 Pet. 3:10-13). Christ lifted up from the earth, has
drawn all men to himself (cf. Jn. 12:32). Rising from the dead
(cf. Rom. 6:9) he sent his life-giving Spirit upon his disciples
and through him set up his Body which is the Church as the
universal sacrament of salvation. Sitting at the right hand of
the Father he is continually active in the world in order to lead
men to the Church and, through it, join them more closely to
himself; and, by nourishing them with his own Body and Blood,
make them partakers of his glorious life. The promised and
hoped for restoration, therefore, has already begun in Christ. It
is carried forward in the sending of the Holy Spirit and through
him continues in the Church in which, through our faith, we learn
the meaning of our earthly life, while we bring to term, with
hope of future good, the task allotted to us in the world by the
Father, and so work out our salvation (cf. Phil. 2:12). Already
the final age of the world is with us (cf. 1 Cor. 10:11) and the
renewal of the world is irrevocably under way - it is even now
anticipated in a certain real way, for the Church on Earth is
endowed already with a sanctity that is real though imperfect.

[17] It is especially in the sacred liturgy that our union
with the heavenly Church is best realized; in the liturgy,
through the sacramental signs, the power of the Holy Spirit acts
on us, and with community rejoicing we celebrate together the
praise of the divine majesty,[18] when all those of every tribe
and tongue and people and nation (cf. Apoc. 5:9) - who have been
redeemed by the blood of Christ and gathered together into one
Church glorify, in one common song of praise, the one and triune
God. When, then, we celebrate the Eucharistic sacrifice we are
most closely united to the worship of the heavenly Church; when
in the fellowship of communion we honor and remember the glorious
Mary ever virgin, St. Joseph, the holy apostles and martyrs and
all the saints.[19]